diabetes More Funding Necessary For Veterans Medical Research Program

[Guest allanopie]

MORE FUNDING NECESSARY FOR VETERANS MEDICAL RESEARCH PROGRAM -- 62 Senators sign on to bipartisan letter for veterans FY07 appropriations

Ranking Member Daniel Akaka and Chairman Larry CraigApril 26, 2006

Media contact for Sen. Craig: Jeff Schrade (202)224-9093

Media contact for Sen. Akaka: Donalyn Donalyn Dela Cruz (202) 224-6361

Washington, DC - Today Senators Larry Craig (R-ID) and Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Chairman and Ranking member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee, sent a letter to its appropriations subcommittee urging an increase in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Medical and Prosthetic Research Program.

Tomorrow the Veterans’ Committee will hold a hearing to shed more light on VA research breakthroughs and development needs.

The President’s budget for 2007 proposed decreasing VA research by $13 million. The senators’ letter supports increasing the VA budget by $20 million over last year’s level – a 5 percent increase.

The letter states: "The proposed level of direct funds does not keep pace with inflation and will compel VA to cut numerous projects. Therefore, we support a FY07 funding level of $432 million, in order to cover inflation, sustain current VA research and development commitments, and allow critical new research initiatives to move forward."

Craig and Akaka joined forces in hopes to sustain VA research programs which are instrumental in developing innovative and effective methods of treatment. Modern warfare has unfortunately resulted in many wounded servicemembers who stand to benefit from enhanced VA research in the areas of prosthetic limbs, rehabilitation, and traumatic brain and spinal injuries.

The letter was addressed to the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Chairperson Kay Bailey Hutchison and Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein.

Here is the text of the letter:

April 26, 2006

The Honorable Kay Bailey Hutchison, Chairman

The Honorable Dianne Feinstein, Ranking Member

Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs

Committee on Appropriations

United States Senate

Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Hutchison and Ranking Member Feinstein:

We strongly urge the Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs to demonstrate this nation's commitment to its veterans by providing a much-needed increase in the Fiscal Year 2007 appropriation for the Department of Veterans Affairs' Medical and Prosthetics Research Program.

The Administration's proposed FY07 budget for the direct costs of VA research is $399 million, a $13 million cut from the current year’s level of $412 million. The proposed level of direct funds does not keep pace with inflation and will compel VA to cut numerous projects.

Therefore, we support a FY07 funding level of $432 million, in order to cover inflation, sustain current VA research and development commitments, and allow critical new research initiatives to move forward.

If enacted, the proposed cuts to the VA research budget will result in the loss of 96 research projects in valuable areas such as diabetes, cancer, aging, heart disease, and 286 full-time employees (FTE) are projected to lose their jobs. Further, given that participation in VA’s top-notch research program is a major factor in recruiting physicians to VA, the research program must be provided the necessary funds to attract and retain quality clinical staff.

Another point to take into account is that the nature of modern warfare and battlefield medicine has resulted in servicemembers coming home with wounds that would have been fatal in previous wars. Many wounded servicemen and women are in need of prosthetic limbs, extensive physical therapy, or have endured traumatic brain injuries. With thousands of military personnel engaged in service overseas, it is vital that Congress invest in research that could have a direct impact on their post-deployment quality of life.

VA research programs have been instrumental in developing innovative and effective methods of treatment since World War II, making landmark contributions to the welfare of veterans and the entirety of the nation. Past VA research projects have resulted in the first successful liver transplant performed in the U.S., development of the cardiac pacemaker, and pioneering the concepts that led to the CT scan. VA research also has played a vital role in treating tuberculosis, rehabilitating blind veterans, and more recently, in launching the largest-ever clinical trial of psychotherapy to treat PTSD. For the last 60 years, VA research has been extremely competitive with its private sector counterparts.

Today, VA’s research program continues to remain appropriately focused. In 2004, VA research took on leadership of a $60 million nationwide study – funded by the National Institute on Aging and other partners – to identify brain changes linked with Alzheimer’s disease. VA research, in partnership with Brown University and MIT, established a major center of excellence to develop state-of-the-art prosthetics for veteran amputees. In June 2005, U.S. News & World Report called VA hospital care "the best around." The important role VA research played in this transformation of the VA medical care system cannot go overlooked; its innovations improved the overall quality and delivery of VA health care for years to come.

Keeping this distinguished record of success in mind, we ask you to further support VA research

by ensuring that an appropriate level of funding continues for this program. These funds must be at a level that accounts for inflation, new and daunting challenges, and most importantly, enables VA to remain an attractive option to our best and brightest in medicine. Adequately funding VA’s Medical and Prosthetics Research Program is vital to maintaining our commitment to veterans.

Sincerely,

In order of signing:

1. 
   Larry E. Craig

   
   

2. 
   Daniel K. Akaka

   
   

3. 
   Ken Salazar

   
   

4. 
   Tim Johnson

   
   

5. 
   John D. Rockefeller

   
   

6. 
   Edward M. Kennedy

   
   

7. 
   Conrad Burns

   
   

8. 
   James M. Jeffords

   
   

9. 
   Arlen Specter

   
   

10. 
    Patrick J. Leahy

    
    

11. 
    Patty Murray

    
    

12. 
    Carl Levin

    
    

13. 
    Frank R. Lautenberg

    
    

14. 
    Max Baucus

    
    

15. 
    Jeff Bingaman

    
    

16. 
    Barack Obama

    
    

17. 
    John Ensign

    
    

18. 
    Debbie Stabenow

    
    

19. 
    Hillary Rodham Clinton

    
    

20. 
    Mike DeWine

    
    

21. 
    Barbara A. Mikulski

    
    

22. 
    George Allen

    
    

23. 
    Kent Conrad

    
    

24. 
    Daniel K. Inouye

    
    

25. 
    Byron L. Dorgan

    
    

26. 
    Christopher S. Bond

    
    

27. 
    Barbara Boxer

    
    

28. 
    Paul S. Sarbanes

    
    

29. 
    Mark L. Pryor

    
    

30. 
    Christopher J. Dodd

    
    

31. 
    Rick Santorum

    
    

32. 
    Herb Kohl

    
    

33. 
    Richard Durbin

    
    

34. 
    Olympia Snowe

    
    

35. 
    John F. Kerry

    
    

36. 
    Johnny Isakson

    
    

37. 
    Pat Roberts

    
    

38. 
    Norm Coleman

    
    

39. 
    Bill Nelson

    
    

40. 
    Lindsey Graham

    
    

41. 
    Robert Menendez

    
    

42. 
    Trent Lott

    
    

43. 
    Chuck Hagel

    
    

44. 
    Mark Dayton

    
    

45. 
    Joseph R. Biden, Jr.

    
    

46. 
    James M. Talent

    
    

47. 
    Maria Cantwell

    
    

48. 
    Mary L. Landrieu

    
    

49. 
    Charles E. Schumer

    
    

50. 
    Thomas R. Carper

    
    

51. 
    Joseph I. Lieberman

    
    

52. 
    Blanche L. Lincoln

    
    

53. 
    Russell D. Feingold

    
    

54. 
    Mike Crapo

    
    

55. 
    John Thune

    
    

56. 
    Ron Wyden

    
    

57. 
    Elizabeth Dole

    
    

58. 
    Richard Burr

    
    

59. 
    Tom Harkin

    
    

60. 
    Jack Reed

    
    

61. 
    Lisa Murkowski

    
    

62. 
    Benjamin Nelson

    
    

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http://veterans.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Newsroom.PressReleases&id=590

[Pete53]

The VA can take all their damn research money and move it over to treat Veterans.

[Guest allanopie]

Hello Pete,

theres alot of VA money in research. Makes you wonder why they know so little.

allan